New Sabah Times, one of Sabah's oldest newspapers, set to shut down on Dec 20

KOTA KINABALU: One of Sabah’s oldest newspapers - New Sabah Times - is set to close on Dec 20.

It is learnt that letters have been sent out to staff announcing the company’s decision that has been talked about since early this year.

About 180 people, including staff and distributors of the company statewide, will be affected by the closure.

The paper is widely linked to former chief minister Tan Sri Musa Aman, whose brother Datuk Ayub Aman is the chairman of the company.

Sources said that dwindling circulation and a drastic drop in advertising revenues over the past years were among the main reasons for the closure.

The Covid-19 pandemic and the growing social media challenge also compounded the company’s woes.

When the paper was first established as a daily newspaper by Tun Fuad Stephens (who later became Sabah’s first chief minister in 1963) in 1954, it was known as Kinabalu Times before it was renamed Sabah Times and later, as the New Sabah Times.

Before the emergence of other print media, the Sabah Times name was synonymous with newspapers in Sabah.

The New Sabah Times is still among the main choices for many older folks in Sabah whenever they wish to read the papers.

New Sabah Times acting managing director Felix Gusti is expected to hold a briefing with the company's employees on Wednesday (Dec 9) about the closure.